Eliel Saarinen | No. 19

Eliel Saarinen
Illustration: Tiffanie Brown

Entrant No. 19, Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950), was the second finalist in the Federal Capital City Design Competition. Saarinen was a Finnish architect who came to prominence while in partnership with fellow architects Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren in the early 1900s.

During this time the partnership designed the Finnish Pavilion for the 1900 World's Fair in Paris and the Finnish National Museum, in what can be described as a Nordic version of the curvilinear art nouveau style.

In 1923 Saarinen emigrated to the United States where he is best known for developing the world renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art. Saarinen designed furniture and buildings, and worked in partnership with his more famous son Eero in the 1930s.

Saarinen designed the new capital of Australia to convey a sense of harmony and dignity, and proposed wide avenues and open places. He planned for a city to be beautifully built according to style, taste and sense.